1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and techniques relevant thereto.
2. Description of the Background Art
There is a technique for controlling an operation on image data by using a password in an image forming apparatus.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette No. 2005-354141, for example, discloses a technique for prohibiting an access operation (including a printing operation and the like) to image data (also referred to as “security image”) in which a password is embedded, when the password which is set in advance is not entered.
In such a technique as shown above, users who are allowed to access the security image are notified of the password in advance. The users are allowed to access the security image by entering the notified password.
In the case where an access control is carried out on the security image only by using the password, however, any user who does not know the password set in the security image can never access the security image. Therefore, it is not easy to ensure flexible handling and the security image cannot be fully put to practical use depending on circumstances.